A Bird in a Gilded Cage
by Roaming Writer
Summary: This is a love story between Eugene and Rapunzel. It takes place in 1900s America. How can a poor coal worker possibly make the love of his life happy?
1. A Bird in a Gilded Cage

**1927, New York City**

Just one more day. One more shift and I can finally eat a proper meal. I wiped the black soot off my face and continued to shovel the black ores into the mine cart. At least this was better than mining duty. I shuddered at the thought of poor Jeffery who died in a collapsed mine, leaving behind a widow and two children. I could never do that to Rapunzel.

My back ached and my chest was filled with coal dust. I paused, trying to catch my breath.

"Hey Eugene," someone called angrily.

I turned around and noticed it was George, a fellow coal worker. He pissed me off. He always hung around a bunch of cronies who follow him like flies.

"Ya fucking moron I'm tawkin to you," he raised his fist and started to walk closer.

Shit shit shit. I couldn't run away, so I just needed to stand my ground.

The closer he walked, the tighter I gripped my shovel, sweat rolling down my coal-blackened face. When he approached me, he grabbed the cuff of my jacket and pulled me close to him. His breath stunk, but I tried to stay calm to not agitate him.

"Eh, nice weather," I quipped.

"Can it Fitzherbert " he snarled. "So..." He turned around and looked at his friends who all grinned back. "Where's my money?"

"Money? The only money I got is my wages" I said, lying through my teeth.

The truth is, I did steal from George. I could've stole from someone… less dangerous but he was the only one I could take from without feeling guilty. But I didn't do it for myself. Rapunzel. My family. They needed the money.

"Look here ya filthy German. I own the streets. And ya think you can take my money?" He paused as his friends surrounded me. "I think we outta teach ya a lesson."

In a desperate attempt to escape, I landed a blow on his stomach and made a dash for it. I tried to push past his circle of friends but they easily grabbed hold on me. They twisted my arm behind my back and pushed me forward to George. My heart was racing. "Look, boys I don't want trouble. If you let me go I promise nothing will happen. I ain't gonna tell the authorities or nobody." But my plea fell on deaf ears.

He gave me an evil sneer. "Pretty boy here thinks he's tough, punchin me like that. Well, ima show ya tough."

I felt George land a solid blow on my stomach, forcing me to cough. The pain was excruciating. I struggled against the grip of the two men who held me but it was no use. Blow after blow my body was beaten. Then my face was pounded, drawing blood from my nose. I called for help but the other coal workers seemed to ignore my pleas. The men pushed me down to the ground and as I tried to get up, they smashed my back with a shovel, causing me to cough up blood. My vision became blurred and I curled up into a ball, trying to protect myself from whatever barrage of attacks were to fly my way.

I thought I was done for. Maybe I would've been if the police didn't arrive. Through my ringing ears I heard the police arrest George while the crowd around me dispersed. Before long, it started to rain, and I felt cold raindrops fall on my face, as if God wanted to spite me even further. I thought about Rapunzel. I needed to get back home to her.

I felt someone hoist me up, lifting me from my shoulders and carrying me across his back. I heard his voice. "I'm here for you Eugene." But before I could figure out who it was, I felt myself drift away, the pain of my temple still throbbing.

When I awoke, the right side of my face felt hot, clearly still swollen from the incident. I tried to get up, but the pain in my stomach shot through my spine, causing me to yell in anguish. I was under a tarp, lying down on a blanket on a dirt floor. It was still raining, the sound of rain being muffled as it fell on coal.

"Hey, Eugene. Calm down," I heard someone say.

I turned around. It was Lance.

"Oh Lance, I'm so glad you're here," I said, relieved.

Lance was my childhood friend. We grew up on the streets together and we eventually landed a gig at this coal mine. I mean it hadn't been easy on him or me. He was black and I was German, not necessarily the most well-liked type of people.

"Glad?" I laughed, shifting my weight on the dirt floor.

"Yeah, I found a cop right away when I saw you getting beaten."

The cops…. It was Lance? "Wow, you might have actually saved my life," I chuckled.

"Well I guess we're even now right Eugene?"

"You wish," I mused. "Remember that time you stole my chocolate when I was a kid? We ain't ever gonna be even," I joked.

"Anyways, you should get going. Wage day is today"

Wage day… Yes! It was today! I could finally return home with money again! I got up, fighting through the pain. But I barely made it far before I felt my back pain and started to fall, but Lance quickly grabbed me.

"Woah woah Eugene. You need this," he handed me a crutch.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing hold of the crutch. I limped my way outside and towards the collection line, where hundreds of workers flocked to get their wages. The lines were even longer than the lunch lines. After waiting a long time, I approached the front, and I received a six dollar bank note, two dollars less than I was promised.

"Hey!" I protested to the wage-giver. "I'm supposed to get 8 dollars a week"

He looked up at me and raised his eyebrows. "Eugene Fitzherbert right?" He looked through a pile of papers. "Look, it says here you caused trouble and disrupted other workers. So you get less money. Now scram. You bootlickin' Germans are lucky to get a cent," he cackled. He gestured for me to get out of line.

I was furious but it was pointless to argue. I was just another coal worker. They wouldn't care to listen to me.

I looked down at my bank note and couldn't help but feel hopeless. This money was just barely enough for the medication and groceries. I was hoping… I was hoping to take Rapunzel out to see the Christmas lights in Cleveland and maybe get her something special. Fuck! Why am I such a failure? Rapunzel doesn't deserve a coal worker as a husband. I'm a thief, a dirty fucking thief who can't even provide for his family.

I sat down to catch my breath. Then when I started to shiver from the cold, I took my crutch and slowly made my way to the grocery store, buying the weekly vegetables and canned goods for 4 dollars. It was getting dark and it began to rain again.

Next I made my way to the pharmacy near my apartment. When I entered, I heard the bell ring and the man behind the counter looked at me. He had wispy white hair and a moustache that curled on the ends. He waved his hands and gave me a smile.

"Hey, Fitzherbert! Back again for more medication?"

I walked towards him, using my crutch to brace my stomach pain. His face suddenly became worried and he rushed out the counter towards me.

I waved my hand to dismiss him. "I'm fine Francis. Really."

He slowly walked back behind the counter, but kept an eye on me, making sure I don't fall.

"Man, Fitzherbert. Things don't seem well for you. What happened to your stomach and face? Another bad day at the mines?"

I leaned on the counter with one arm. "I don't even wanna talk about it. I just need the usual medication."

"Man…" he said, a tone of despair in his voice. "More cold medication?"

"Yeah," I admitted softly, trying not to show too much emotion.

He began to put the bottle of cough syrup into a paper bag. I reached into my pocket for the 2 dollars I had left. I was about to hand it to him but then he raised his hand, refusing the money. He patted me on the shoulder.

I looked at him, confused.

"Ey look Eugene, I feel for ya. I really do. So look, as part of the Christmas spirit and on account of your sorry condition, the medication's on me."

"T-thank you," I said, surprised by this act of kindness. A feeling of pure joy leaped through my heart. "Merry Christmas Francis."

"You too Fitzherbert."

As quick as I could, I made my way home, happy about the 2 dollars in my pocket. It was hard, but I climbed up the stairs to my apartment and knocked on the door. I tried to stand up as straight as possible, to look as good as possible for Rapunzel. I took a deep breath as the door slowly opened.

My beautiful wife was there to greet me. Her blonde hair ran down halfway to her back, and looked somewhat unkempt but still shined like it always did. She was dressed in an old faded light pink dress that was a direct contrast to her vibrant and youthful appearance. But her pretty face quickly changed demeanor. When she saw my condition, her smooth forehead shriveled and her lips quivered. "E-Eugene?" She said, tears beginning rolling down her face.

I forced a bigger smile on my own face, trying to ease my sunshine. "Hey, Rapunzel. I'm fine, really."

She ran over and embraced me, crying into my dirty tunic. I embraced her as well, holding the groceries and crutch in one hand. We made our way inside and I placed the groceries in the kitchen. I dropped my crutch and made my way towards the couch. Rapunzel frantically grabbed a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and new bandage wraps and then sat next to me.

"Eugene, let me see," she said, holding my hand tightly.

"Rapunzel. You don't need to worry. I'm fine," I reassured her.

"Eugene!" she scolded, her voice cracked and eyes watered up again.

I let out a sigh and removed my jacket and shirt, revealing bleeding cuts and dark bruises. Rapunzel ran her fingers over my toned body, and gently dabbed my wounds with a cloth soaked in alcohol.

"Ah," I winced in pain.

"Sorry," she replied, her sweet voice calming me down.

I looked at her while she tended to my wounds. I was aware that I didn't deserve a wife like her. She was too pure. Too innocent for this world. How could she care more about my injuries than I do? I sighed. This was love and I'm glad that an average Joe like me could find such a sweet girl like her. I reached my hand over to her teary face and wiped the long streams of water. Rapunzel looked up at me with her cute green eyes, which were no longer filled with worry. Her lips bent into a smile, and her cheeks puffed up in a cute smirk. Then she wrapped a bandage around my stomach to cover the cuts. Surprisingly it did feel better, as if Rapunzel had natural healing abilities.

But I almost forgot! The medication! I quickly rummaged through my coat pocket and I pulled out the small bottle of cough syrup and handed it to Rapunzel. "Here, the medication."

She squealed with joy and gave me a hug so powerful it nearly choked me to death.

Just then, a 5 year old boy walked out of the hallway, rubbing his eyes in confusion. "Mommy? Daddy? What are you doing?"

My son. I rarely got to see him, but when I do, my heart skips beats. He was always so full of energy and eagerness. He was my, no, OUR precious treasure. Rapunzel and I named him together, Flynn, a namesake for my childhood hero.

But recently, Flynn lost his youthful luster and became bedridden. The doctors said he caught pneumonia and had to stay in bed and take medication. The news was devastating. I had known friends who caught pneumonia while working the coal mines and later died. I never expected for my son to get sick though. So I knew I had to buy medication for him with our already scarce funds. Rapunzel didn't have a job, so I knew I had to provide for my family.

Rapunzel quickly got up from the couch and ran over to Flynn, bending down and holding his hand. "Hey sweety, go back to bed ok?" she comforted him. Rapunzel kissed Flynn on the nose, who quickly turned his attention to me.

"But I want to talk with daddy," he complained, pointing his short fingers at me.

"Alright." She brought him over to me and I stood up, no longer aware of the pain.

I lifted him up with one arm, using my other arm to brace my weight. "Hey sport, long time no see."

"Daddy, where do you always go?" He looked at my bruised face and body and scratched his head.

"I went to get you medicine for your cough."

"But but I don't want to eat more medicine," he complained , naive of his illness.

I placed him down on the couch and reached in my pocket for a nickel. I held it up in front of his face, which quickly gleamed with interest and joy. "If you eat your medicine, I'll give you a nickel to buy taffy."

"Ok," he said, grabbing the nickel.

"Now, go back to bed son," I said, ruffling his smooth dirty-blonde hair. I chuckled to myself, remembering how Rapunzel and I would argue about whether he would get brown or blonde hair. I had hoped he would get beautiful blonde hair like his mother, but Rapunzel insisted that brown hair would look better on a boy. But to our surprise, Flynn grew brownish-blonde hair. And we agreed that that looked the best.

"Ok daddy." He ran back to Rapunzel, who led him back to the room.

I walked over to the vinyl disc player, the one we got a while ago. It was a 10 year old version so we got it pretty cheap. The store owner also threw in a bunch of old vinyl records that had already been used and scratched up. But they functioned fine, creating an ambient atmosphere that was perfect for any special occassion. I put on A Bird in a Gilded Cage, one of Rapunzel's favorite records. It was crackly, but it was good quality for an older model record player. After the record started playing I went to grab my stash of money I saved up. It wasn't much, just 10 dollars, a bit more than a week's worth of wages. Now I had 12 dollars, enough for a night at a fancy steakhouse. I hid the money behind my back, waiting for my wife to come back from tucking Flynn in. When she entered the living room, her cheerful aura filled the room, accentuating the record's music.

"Eugene, what's all this?"

I took my hand from behind my back and showed her the 12 dollars. "Merry Christmas sunshine."

She gasped loudly and raised her hands to her face, clearly speechless.

I placed the money down on the table and held her slender waist with one arm and grabbed her hand in the other. I lifted her hand and gently swayed back and forth along the rhythm of the music. Rapunzel's small arms reached behind me and I felt our chests touch. When the music crescendoed, I lifted Rapunzel up, the excitement numbing my body pain. I held her in my arms and pulled her lips closer to mine. I closed my eyes and committed to the wonderful sensation. I tasted her sweet mouth, feeling her small lips in my own. I held her up with one arm and ran my finger through her hair, and graced it over her flawless face.

Slowly, we pulled our lips apart.

"I've been meaning to tell you," she started. "Doctor says that Flynn is getting better."

"Really? I guess you had a surprise to tell me too," I chuckled. I was so relieved, another burden off my chest.

Still holding her, I let out a relaxed sigh.I gently put her back on her feet as we continued to dance. Our bare feet moved side to side, dancing to the music. The music was so sad, but still hopeful. It sung of a girl who was married off for money instead of true love. Oh how the music sung of her yearning for love.

She's only a bird in a gilded cage,A beautiful sight to see,You may think she's happy and free from care,She's not, though she seems to be…

Rapunzel loved this song because it reminded her of how lucky she was. Unlike the girl, she wasn't married off to a rich man. But she was happy, unlike the poor girl in the song. Rapunzel had married Eugene and she would not trade him for a boat full of gold.

Eugene felt the same way. As he held her in his arms, he felt free. As long as he had her and their son, he was the happiest man alive.

As the music continued, they stared into each other's eyes. Eugene was hypnotized by the beauty and innocence of Rapunzel. Rapunzel was hypnotized by the strength and charm of Eugene.

The silence was broken by Rapunzel's soft voice, " I love you"

"I love you too."

The lovers continued to sway back and forth as the song ended.

…and her beauty was sold,

for an old man's gold.

A bird in a gilded cage...


	2. My Son

**I posted this chapter as a separate story but I decided to fix up the grammar and combine it with this story so I can continue this series!**

* * *

 **1930, New York City, The Great Depression**

It was the darkest hour of the night and the neighbors were yelling outside. A shrill voice was yelling about the rent, followed by the sound of smashing glass. A deep voice interjected, using a whole thesaurus of obscene words. Then, a moment of silence was followed by a thud and the crying of a woman…

What was it like to be in such a terrible relationship so devoid of love? I had seen it all around me, in the mostly fatherless households that live in this raggedy neighborhood. Fatherless… just like him. Just like Rapunzel. But one thing I'm grateful for was that my son had me. I would never leave this family. Never.

I looked at my beautiful wife Rapunzel who was sleeping soundly with our 8 year old son, Flynn, nuzzled up in the crook of her neck. I tried not to shed a tear as I glanced around the old run-down three-room apartment.

I am useless, a disgrace for a husband. I took a deep breath, hoping to come to my senses. I closed my eyes and remembered the first day we stepped foot in this apartment. I remembered the dust that would fill my lungs every time I took a breath. I remembered when I had a job, before the Depression hit. I didn't make a lot of money then either, but there was something gratifying and 'manly' about working my way through life, providing for my wife and son. And without thought, I began to feel flustered and I had to step out of the room.

Life was hard after I lost my job at the coal mines, just sitting around and and comforting my sweetheart and my boy with false hopes. "I'm having a job interview soon," I'd tell Rapunzel. "Don't worry pal, I'll get us outta this ol' neighborhood," I'd tell my son.

The only comfort I had in my life was family — my true family that I would never abandon, unlike my parents who left me in an orphanage. Without money, it was hard, but without love it'd be damn near impossible to survive. I am grateful that we don't argue or fight. I am grateful that I would never think of hurting or leaving Rapunzel. I am grateful that we were not like the broken families around us.

The dead silence of the night was broken by the cries of my son, the painful cries of a hungry boy.

* * *

The boy loved baseball and cowboys and swashbuckling pirates. When he was younger, when he went to school, he would come home with a smile plastered on his face, telling me stories of Davy Crockett the frontiersman, or stories about Blackbeard the notorious swashbuckling scoundrel of the seven seas.

He would have dreams of being "strong and brave like his father." In the mornings he would tell me all about his dreams, despite Rapunzel's insistence for him to eat first and talk later. But he wouldn't listen, making sure we hear about his night-time wonders.

These memories warmed my heart and gave me hope that someday the world will change, that we will get our lives back.

But little Flynn no longer told me about his dreams. He rarely got sleep and no longer played baseball with his old friends, who he left after we moved. He would stay inside, wary of the gangs that lurked around dark corners at night. He no longer dreamed of swashbucklers and cowboys. He dreamed of a normal life, a life where he had food and a safe home.

* * *

With the sound of the cries, I rushed into the room, seeing Rapunzel holding Flynn, comforting him with her soothing motherly voice.

"Mommy I'm hungry," he said, clenching his stomach.

Rapunzel stroked the young boy's stomach and gave him a kiss on the head, eliciting shrieks of laughter.

"Stop! It tickles!," he protested.

"Well, at least it won't hurt anymore…" she answered, raising her eyebrows playfully.

For a while, it continued, with Rapunzel playfully teasing the boy until he seemed to forget about his pain.

Flynn seemed content and placed his head back on his mother's shoulder. And instinctively, Rapunzel began to whisper a song to drift her son back to sleep.

 _Flower gleam and glow…_ her beautiful voice mesmerized me as it echoed throughout the small cramped room.

 _Let your power shine…_ Flynn smiled again, his pains seemingly subsiding.

 _Make the clock reverse… Bring back what once was mine….. What once was mine…_

Within seconds, silence encapsulated the room once again. Rapunzel tucked Flynn in, making sure the blanket was covering his whole body.

Seemingly content with the current situation, Rapunzel glanced at me with her characteristic smile and stood up, stretching her slender waist. We made our way outside the bedroom, making sure not to interrupt my son's sleep.

"Eugene, when did you get up?" she asked, her hand on her waist.

"Well…" I hesitated, looking out the window, guessing that it was about 3:00 in the morning. "Around 20 minutes ago" I answered.

Rapunzel walked closer to me and placed her arms around my torso, resting her head on my chest.

I held her around her slim shoulders and for a while, we swayed back and forth in the hallway, unaware of time itself. Small moments like these were magical and so romantic. If only I could freeze time, I'd have eternal bliss.

"Eugene?"

"Yes blondie?"

"What are we going to do?" a certain sense of fear entered her voice.

"Hey hey look sweety, we will survive this. People have worse off than us. Plus, if anyone sees the bright side of things it would be you."

Rapunzel smiled as we continued to sway back and forth, our movements synchronized with our breaths and heartbeats. "You always say that."

"Well, I always tell you that you're beautiful and smart and the most perfect wife anyone could have, and all those are true…"

Rapunzel's face flushed red and she tiptoed for a kiss, clashing her lips with mine, creating an inaudible symphony of romance.

As our lips parted, a faint phrase escaped from her mouth, "I love you."

"I love you too"

While our pseudo-dancing continued, I lifted her up and we spun around until our quiet laughter blended together.

As our nighttime euphoria lingered, through a small door opening, I saw Flynn sleeping soundly.

And for a while… it seemed as if the boy was dreaming of swashbucklers and cowboys once again.


End file.
